Rayford

Engagement Manager

Starting Out

I was a chemical engineer and had done internships in nuclear waste remediation and oil refining. When I realized I didn’t want to work as an engineer in a plant or manufacturing facility, I started to research business school and the top employers for business school graduates. That’s how I found McKinsey. I joined McKinsey as a BA in the Chicago Office. I was the first recruit from my college, Florida A&M University. After I received my offer, we started the FAMU recruiting team, and six other alums have not only joined the Firm as BA’s but all returned after receiving graduate degrees.

The BA Years

My two years as a Business Analyst in the Chicago Office were a blast! One of my favorite experiences was serving a large retailer. My team was helping them significantly revise their buying process, and I was working directly with one of the merchants, an older white guy. We had nothing in common and he wasn’t ecstatic that his boss thought that he needed some help. But after working really hard together over a couple of months, we realized that we shared a love of old school R&B. We built a strong relationship on that, and at the end of the engagement he made me a tape of his favorite music.

Steel Sharpens Steel

The McKinsey environment is like no other I’ve worked in. And it’s not just the people – it’s the fact that you have them all together in one place like this. By working together, you actually make each other better. Steel sharpens steel, if you will. You learn and grow in this kind of environment faster than you can in many others.

Improving Education

I’ve always been engaged in some sort of education effort, whether it was formal research, volunteering, mentoring, tutoring, or providing strategic thinking. However, I wanted to make it more than just an extracurricular activity and actually part of my professional life. McKinsey has been an excellent way to do that. I currently spend my time in both K-12 systems as well as higher education. I helped one large urban school district develop a portfolio management function to manage their improvement initiatives. Additionally, I led a university effort to quickly reduce their budget by 10% when they found themselves in trouble as a result of the economic crisis.

Free Time

I just completed my first year of marriage, and I spend any free time with my wife and our extended families. I’m planning to take a piano class on Thursday nights, though I haven’t made it yet. Every day I learn more about setting my boundaries and balancing my personal and professional lives.